{"id":814940,"date":"2026-03-16T06:59:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T06:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/814940\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T06:59:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T06:59:15","slug":"why-seattle-seahawks-can-withstand-new-millionaire-tax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/814940\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Seattle Seahawks can withstand new ‘millionaire tax’"},"content":{"rendered":"

It didn\u2019t take long for Seattle Seahawks general manager and president of football operations John Schneider to hear from people he deals with regularly about the income tax Washington state lawmakers passed last week<\/a> for residents making over $1 million in a year.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere were a bunch of agents yesterday texting me like, hey, can\u2019t use that anymore, buddy,\u201d Schneider said Thursday to Seattle Sports\u2019 Wyman and Bob, referring to Washington\u2019s status as a non-income tax state. \u201cI think it is (impactful) for all the pro teams here in town. It\u2019s always been a huge attraction, especially competing with the California teams. It\u2019s been a big deal for us.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo yeah, it\u2019s going to sting, from a recruiting standpoint\u2026 All the (salary) cap guys that have been here before too are looking at this, like, dang. It\u2019s gonna sting, there\u2019s no question about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schneider clearly has a point, and he would have as good of an idea about how much players could be dissuaded to sign somewhere due to an income tax since it\u2019s been something he could use in his favor over his entire 16-year tenure with the Seahawks. But it doesn\u2019t mean the new \u201cmillionaire tax\u201d that is likely to take effect in 2028 will make or break the Seahawks\u2019 recruiting pitch when trying to sign free agents in the future.<\/p>\n

In fact, they currently get to use something in their pitch that teams rarely have the ability to pull out: they\u2019re the reigning Super Bowl champs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think ultimately players want to win,\u201d Seattle Sports\u2019 Curtis Rogers said during Friday\u2019s edition of Bump and Stacy. \u201cThat should be your biggest recruiting pitch, and the Seahawks have a brand new, sparkly, shiny Lombardi Trophy in their lobby right now that they can show to prospective free agents and say, hey, we\u2019ve got one of these in the very recent past. That should be the ultimate thing that should attract a free agent here is that you\u2019ve got the ability to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not like the Seahawks are the only team in the NFL that will have to worry about an income tax for their players. The only teams in the NFL whose states don\u2019t have an income tax are the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins in Florida, the Las Vegas Raiders in Nevada, the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans in Texas, and the Tennessee Titans. By the way, the only one of those teams to win a Super Bowl this century was Tampa Bay, which did so at the end of the 2002 and 2020 seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you\u2019re going to have to get a little more creative in how you recruit free agents to come to Seattle,\u201d Rogers said, \u201cbut I don\u2019t think this is going to spell the end for the Seahawks being a Super Bowl contender.\u201d<\/p>\n

Host Stacy Rost agreed, and pointed out that a state where two of Seattle\u2019s NFC West rivals reside, neither of whom have struggled to sign players, has long had an income tax.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a little bit of a wrench, a baby wrench, that\u2019s thrown into things,\u201d she said. \u201c\u2026 I would imagine it\u2019s more of an annoyance than it is something that will completely take down your ability to sign competitive free agents. And by the way, you know where you get taxed to you-know-what? California. \u2026 I think winning cures all for a lot of reasons, and will continue to be the case here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hear the full discussion in the middle segment of the podcast at this link<\/a> or in the player below. Catch Bump and Stacy from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

More on the Seattle Seahawks<\/p>\n

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\u2022\u00a0Seahawks WR Dareke Young signs with Kubiak\u2019s Raiders<\/a>
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Follow @BrentStecker<\/a><\/p>\n

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